By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock market futures stepped lower Friday as investors remained nervous ahead of closely-watched payrolls figures.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJM11 -0.28% dropped 33 points to 12,205 and Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures SPM11 -0.27% fell 3.90 points to 1,308.50
Nasdaq 100 futures NDM11 -0.26% were down 6.75 points at 2,319.25.
The falls came after U.S. stocks ended the day mostly lower on Thursday, including a nearly-42 point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The focus for Friday will be May’s nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting 125,000 jobs to have been added in the month, down from 244,000 in April.
However, investors are nervous and economists have been scaling back their expectations after a survey of private-sector employment by Automatic Data Processing Inc. on Wednesday came in well below expectations. Read more on the ADP jobs survey.
The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 8.9% from 9% in April.
The dollar index was virtually flat as traders awaited the data. The index DXY +0.02% slipped 0.01% to 74.33.
Commodities were mostly lower. The July silver contract SIN11 -1.55% fell 43 cents to $35.77 an ounce, while gold futures held broadly steady.
Among stocks to watch Friday, shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT -1.38% will be in focus as the retail giant holds its annual shareholders meeting.
Shares in VeriFone Systems Inc. PAY +1.62% may rise after the company late Thursday raised its yearly financial forecasts and reported quarterly results that beat market expectations.
Walgreen Co. WAG -0.23% is due to report its May sales figures.
In international markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average JP:NI225 -0.66% dropped 0.7% as most Asian markets closed lower.
European markets edged up amid reports that Greece is close to securing a new rescue package. Germany’s DAX 30 index DX:DAX +0.46% rose 0.4%, while the Greek ASE Composite XX:COMPO -0.99% jumped 2.7%.
